Cold grips Northeast

In the extreme cold snap that hit the northeast over the weekend, Rhode Island was hit particularly hard.

BY SUSAN KIM | BALTIMORE |
January 11, 2004

In the extreme cold snap that hit the northeast over the weekend, Rhode Island was hit particularly hard. Homeless shelters were filled to capacity, and churches across the state were helping out with the overflow. Residents were not necessarily homeless, reported personnel from the shelters, but they cannot afford to pay their heating bills.

Also in that state, an average of 1,000 motorists per hour called AAA with car trouble.

Several northeastern states were gripped by the coldest temperatures in a decade over the weekend.

The coldest of them all? St. Johnsbury, Vt., where the low reached 27 below zero, according to the National Weather Service. Boston's Logan Airport recorded a low of three below zero.

Other broken records: 19 below at Montpelier, Vt.; 16 below at Syracuse, N.Y.; seven below at Scranton, Pa.; and two below at Bridgeport, Conn., according to the National Weather Service.

Rochester, N.Y., saw its coldest morning since 1994, at 12 below zero. New York City's LaGuardia and Kennedy airports also set records at two degrees above zero.